Misdemeanour Question
 

I was arrested in 2005 for a stupid Class C Misdemeanor for peeing in public. I was booked downtown and charged. The next day with the local judge I put in a plea of no contest and paid a fine and completed six hours of community service which satisfied the requirments for the case to be dismissed.

In 2008 had the case expunged by lawyer.

Since then I have checked my Texas DPS record by fingerprinting and that came back as "No arrest record".

I have also done the FBI Background Check with fingerprints and that came back as "No Arrest Record - FBI".

I have looked through my Expunction documentation and it states that when you have expunged your record "under Texas law you you may deny the occurrence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order unless you are questioning under oath in a criminal proceeding"

So my question is should I include this on airline applications if I have the right to deny it ever happened?

Thanks for your help.

Airlines are located in different states, so it might depend on what state you were interviewing in.

You might have the right to deny it, but if the information comes to light somehow (TSA/FBI or company background check) they might simply not hire you (no explanation is ever given). Or they might still fire you after you start training...some airlines will cheerfully fight a lawsuit just so they can do things their way. Also juries are notorious for finding in favor of airlines when it comes to pilot hiring decisions...actions which a regular company could never get away with. I think juries tend to have a hysterical reaction toward perceived flight safety concerns. Aunt Agatha would never want a CRIMINAL to be her pilot on the flight to Podunk Falls.

This incident is pretty low key...it's a "youthful indiscretion" not a "crime". Assuming you were fairly young (under 30) it should not be a barrier to employment if you accept responsibility and state that you will not do anything like that again. Believe, you are not the first pilot who has had an issue like this...they are hiring pilots, not pastors. But if you were over 30, they will probably assume you're an alcoholic.

My advice would just be to admit it. But if you'd rather not I suggest you find an attorney who is familiar with aviation employment issues and get professional advice. A regular employment law attorney will not be familiar with the special rules for airlines.

You seem to have made a fairly complete review of your record. Expunged means expunged and short of a KGB/CIA/Mossad/ MI6 investigation or some other legal action I think you are better off leaving this little adventure off of any application.

The applications serve to seperate the unqualified and if they have a stack of people with no legal problems that week, guess who is going to stand out for their horrible offense against the state?

If in doubt talk to a real Lawyer, but my guess is he will tell you the same thing.

its gone, legally you can say no and its no record of it.

Thanks for the replies fellas. It seems like there are quite a few differing opinions on this. In my opinion if my FBI record request came back with nothing how could the airlines see anything if they check the same database?

Nothing is ever gone once it's loose in cyberspace.

Would you rather tell them in the interview, and explain the details and how it was tossed? Or would you rather they find out on their own and boot you to the curb during training?

Take your chances of them finding out on your own. If its not in the FBI database then I would bet your job you're in the clear. Don't volunteer this information.

I would have to say you are safe. I made a similar manuver (hit a squad car with a crown/seven) 15+ years ago and never heard a thing from 2 different airlines. Needless to say it shall remain unreported...

If you want to keep it hidden, keep it hidden.

If they checked your background and most of the checks find nothing, but one does turn up something, now all they have to do is google "arrested 2005 in Texas for peeing in public" and this page is the first link that turns up. So then they would be able to see your post and understand your dilemma. I think it'd be a little bit rediculous to deny someone employment for a minor incident like that

I would suggest you might want to look at the thread in Pre Interview that covers this topic. The facts:

1. No employee decides, and no applicant's opinion determines what standards will be used by his / her potential employer to decide whether employment is offered. You will have to live by their standards, not by what you feel is fair.

2. The FAA medical certificate requirements are very specific in terms of reporting requirements. BS these and you can go to jail. The TSA also has stringent requirements as to what offenses will preclude the issuance of a securtity clearance incident to operating as a flight crew member. Look these up online before you spend lots of money on training or obtaining ratings. You might eventually qualify after an intervening time period as required by TSA regulations has elapsed following the offense, and assuming no other subsequent offense.

3. The employer may also have their own corporate standard, that must at least equal federal requirements but which may be more stringent. Should an incident or accident occur, they're not going to want some journalist to point out that one of the crewmembers has a history of x type of offense(s). Airline pilots are held to a higher standard than many occupations for obvious reasons.

4. Background checks may include information from a variety of sources, and most offenses in the last 10 years are available in at least one electronic data base. It is true that older offenses on paper systems are harder to track.

If you're hired, but hide something, and the background check uncovers it, you will probably be uncerimoniously shown the door, and you will now have a termination on your record to deal with. Remember, you're signing an application that says you agree that supplying inaccurate or false information is grounds for termination...NO MATTER WHEN THE COMPANY discovers the issue.

That said, if you have one incident years ago, and a clean record since then, and no other yellow flags like failed checkrides, you are still in the game. Apply...but be truthful in the application and interview process.